


"[DATA EXPUNGED]"

by NYKevin



Category: SCP Foundation
Genre: Bureaucracy, Gen, Horror, Humans are the Real Monsters, Inanimate Objects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:35:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22101148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NYKevin/pseuds/NYKevin
Summary: Final draft of anSCP-EXentry.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	"[DATA EXPUNGED]"

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a final draft, meaning that it is missing a small number of finishing touches that would have been done during or shortly before the submission process, if I had submitted it to the SCP wiki proper. These are marked with the word "TODO" in square brackets. For the most part, they should not interfere with your enjoyment of the work.
> 
> Why isn't it on the wiki? For three related reasons:
> 
>   1. The subject matter is difficult to search for, so I'm not sure how original it is. 
>   2. I don't have an account on the wiki, and I don't want to create one just to be told my idea was already done by someone else. 
>   3. I have read through the wiki's rules several times over the past few years, and each time I found them a bit overly prescriptive for my taste. This is, of course, an entirely subjective personal opinion, and not a criticism of the rules themselves. 
> 

> 
> Someday, I might change my mind and submit it, but for now, I'm putting it here so that people can at least read it.
> 
> Content warning: Content is typical of an SCP entry and may be disturbing to some readers. Proceed with caution.
> 
> Finally: Please note that the quotation marks are part of the title.

_[TODO: Replace all instances of XXXX with the actual SCP-EX number. Do_ not _insert -EX into old documents; it wasn't an -EX at that time.]_

 **Item #:** SCP-XXXX-EX

 **Object Class:**  
~~Euclid~~ (██/██/18██ - ██/██/199█)  
~~Safe~~ (██/██/199█ - ██/██/200█)  
~~Keter~~ (for 10 days from ██/██/200█ to ██/██/200█)  
Explained on ██/██/200█

 **Special Containment Procedures:** Containment is terminated as of ██/██/200█. No procedures apply. See below for superseded procedures.

[Procedures from ██/██/18██ to ██/██/199█]

SCP-XXXX is to be removed from all Foundation documents where discovered, and replaced with "[REDACTED]" (exactly as written here) in newly issued documents. Personnel who have been exposed to SCP-XXXX are to be evaluated for basic mental competency and then returned to their regular duties after a period of 3 days. Personnel who exhibit memetic symptoms other than those described below are to be reclassified as Class E personnel. They shall not be returned to their regular duties until cleared by the Senior Researcher assigned to SCP-XXXX, currently Dr. ███-████.

_[Historical note: Dr. ███-████ was the Senior Researcher on ██/██/199█, when the object was reclassified as Safe. Previous Senior Researchers may be found in Foundation personnel records.]_

Publication of SCP-XXXX is to be avoided at all costs. Where possible, mobile agents should be assigned to any printer, typesetter, or other publication house, particularly those in the vicinity of Site-██. If Foundation agents are unable to prevent publication, amnestics shall be administered as needed, and the affected population center is to be closely monitored for any symptoms not consistent with those described below.

[Procedures from ██/██/199█ to ██/██/200█]

SCP-XXXX is to be used throughout Foundation documents as a standard. If SCP-XXXX is found in any publicly-accessible documents or materials, the same shall be examined to verify that they did not originate from the Foundation and are not otherwise classified.

Personnel objecting to the use of SCP-XXXX in Foundation documents are to be immediately reclassified as Class D personnel.

[Procedures from ██/██/200█ to ██/██/200█]

SCP-XXXX is to be automatically scrubbed from all Foundation documents and all other Foundation materials, except for the source code of the automated scrubber. In that context, SCP-XXXX is to appear in encrypted form, with the decryption key shared between the members of the O5 Council using Shamir's secret sharing algorithm, such that at least 7 shares (a majority) are required for decryption. The key is to be rotated every 90 days, or immediately in the event that any share is compromised. The ciphertext shall only be decrypted at runtime by the scrubber, and never for direct viewing by a human. Any personnel displaying knowledge of the content of SCP-XXXX are to be amnesticized immediately and reclassified as Class E, or terminated if D Class.

In the event that SCP-XXXX appears in any publicly-accessible documents or other materials, the public internet is to be partitioned into █ disconnected segments by Foundation agents at the internet service providers, governments, and other organizations listed in supplementary document SCP-XXXX-██. The tainted segment or segments are then to be automatically purged of all content which contains or refers to SCP-XXXX, using a system analogous to that for scrubbing Foundation documents. The internet is to remain partitioned until SCP-XXXX has been provably eradicated from all tainted segments. Personnel shall devise a suitable cover story for this event. If communication proves impossible or impractical, personnel shall default to blaming an electromagnetic pulse caused by solar fluctuations.

Finally, the members of the O5 Council who were exposed to SCP-XXXX on or about ██/██/199█ are hereby reclassified as Class E. The O5 Council shall immediately implement its continuity of governance plans as if the affected members had died.

 **Description:** SCP-XXXX-EX consists of the text "[DATA EXPUNGED]". It is not anomalous. It was formerly believed to have memetic properties, until it was discovered on ██/██/200█ that SCP-148 interacted with the purportedly memetic effects. Further investigation resulted in the discovery and containment of SCP-████.

Like any meaningful text, SCP-XXXX-EX does have a very low level of memetic effect. If it did not have any memetic effect at all, it would not carry meaning. The telepathic effects of SCP-████ interact with the "ordinary" memetic effects of written text in a variety of ways, which explains the observations misattributed to SCP-XXXX-EX.

[Description from ██/██/18██ to ██/██/199█]

SCP-XXXX is a phrase which cannot be shown here without violating the Special Containment Procedures described above. Consult Senior Researcher Dr. ███-████, or any of his immediate subordinates, for a verbal description of SCP-XXXX. The verbal description is not known to have memetic effects.

When read by a human, SCP-XXXX causes a moderate memetic reduction in curiosity, localized to its immediately surrounding context. The effects of long-term exposure to SCP-XXXX are unknown.

[Description from ██/██/199█ to ██/██/200█]

SCP-XXXX consists of the text "[DATA EXPUNGED]". When read by Foundation personnel, it memetically disinclines them from leaking sensitive information to the public.

[Description from ██/██/200█ to ██/██/200█]

SCP-XXXX is a phrase which cannot be shown here without violating the Special Containment Procedures described above. When read by a human, SCP-XXXX causes a moderate memetic reduction in curiosity, localized to its immediately surrounding context. Long-term exposure tends to weaken the subject's will, increases their general credulity, decreases their overall intelligence, and produces a variety of other effects which correlate with or facilitate authoritarian sociopolitical structures. The effects are cumulative, and no method of reversal has been identified.

**Addendum:**

[Memo from Dr. ███-████ to the O5 Council, ██/██/199█]

_To the O5 Council,_

_It has come to my attention that you have reclassified SCP-XXXX without consulting me. Reading the updated Special Containment Procedures, I am alarmed by this unilateral decision. It appears that you have decided to not only terminate all containment outright, but to actively spread SCP-XXXX throughout the Foundation. While I agree that the security of Foundation documents is paramount, we simply do not know enough about SCP-XXXX to be confident in the prudence of this course of action. I respectfully request the decision be reversed immediately, pending further study with Class D personnel._

_Sincerely,_  
_Dr. ███-████_

[Memo from O5-2 to Dr. ███-████, ██/██/199█]

_Dr. ███-████,_

_Your request is denied. Additionally, pursuant to the Special Containment Procedures of SCP-XXXX, you are hereby reclassified as Class D personnel. Please report to Class D Orientation immediately._

_For the O5 Council,_  
_O5-2_

[Memo from Dr. ████████ to the O5 Council, ██/██/200█]

_To the O5 Council,_

_If SCP-XXXX leaks on the internet, we will not be able to recover containment. A multi-day network partition would be noticed, but anything short of that would be inadequate. We'll have to choose between exposure and letting this thing destroy society. So I got creative. Here are some of the wilder things we might try:_

_[REDACTED]_

_Finally, SCP-148 doesn't work on memes, and if it somehow did work, it would be too dangerous to use. But I can't help but wonder if we're missing something about SCP-XXXX, and so I feel compelled to mention telekill for completeness._

_Sincerely,_  
_Dr. ████████_

[Memo from O5-2 to Dr. ████████, ██/██/200█]

_Dr. ████████,_

_Permission granted to use telekill solely to confirm the memetic nature of SCP-XXXX. Once you have confirmed the effect is memetic, proceed with the other options in the order you listed, except for [REDACTED], which should be last._

_If the effect is non-memetic, follow standard containment breach protocols as outlined under SCP-148 and notify us at once._

_For the O5 Council,_  
_O5-2_

_[TODO: Insert Thaumiel classification warnings/kill meme/etc. here.]_

**Item #:** SCP-XXXX

 **Object Class:** Thaumiel (since ██/██/198█, previously Euclid)

 **Special Containment Procedures:** SCP-XXXX is to be used throughout Foundation documents as a standard. If SCP-XXXX is found in any publicly-accessible documents or materials, the same shall be examined to verify that they did not originate from the Foundation and are not otherwise classified.

Personnel who experience the less common effects of SCP-XXXX are to be reclassified as Class E. Requests for euthanasia are to be granted unless there is a compelling reason to deny them. The psychological effects of SCP-XXXX shall not be interpreted as compelling reasons to deny, even if they prevent the subject from giving informed consent. In all cases, the subject's records shall be falsified to indicate death by a cause consistent with the subject's lifestyle. Time of death shall be recorded as the date and approximate time when the subject was first quarantined, or such other time as is plausible to the majority of the subject's associates.

Documents which will be read by Class A personnel, including documents originating outside the Foundation, shall be purged of all occurrences of SCP-XXXX by an automated system.

 **Description:** SCP-XXXX consists of the text "[DATA EXPUNGED]". When read by a human, SCP-XXXX causes a moderate memetic reduction in curiosity, localized to its immediately surrounding context. The effect will neither wear off nor accumulate, and cannot be reversed. The effects of long-term exposure to SCP-XXXX are negligible, and include a minor reduction in the rate at which Foundation documents are leaked to the public, as well as a mild increase in loyalty to the Foundation.

Effects in social contexts not involving the Foundation have not been directly measured but are believed to be mild. SCP-XXXX occasionally surfaces in public documents, and has been passively studied in that context since it began circulating on USENET on or about ██/██/198█. The Special Containment Procedures in effect at the time were intended for printed publication, and did not consider the possibility of a decentralized networking service such as USENET, so no immediate action was taken to remove the offending material. Shortly thereafter, SCP-XXXX was reclassified as Thaumiel to improve the containment of sensitive or dangerous information in the face of evolving technology.

An extremely small proportion of subjects experience progressively worsening symptoms of fatal insomnia, invariably ending in death. Autopsies and MRI scans reveal no apparent neurological cause, and in particular, no prions. Based on the available data, the probability of developing symptoms does not appear to correlate with any of the duration, frequency, or intensity of SCP-XXXX exposure, but there is insufficient data to rule out any of these possibilities. Due to the relative paucity of confirmed cases, it is believed that fewer than one in 10,000 individuals is susceptible to these symptoms.

SCP-148 has no known or theorized effect on SCP-XXXX, and they have never been cross-tested. SCP-████ is entirely fictitious.

**Addendum:**

[Memo from Dr. ███-████ to Dr. ████████, intercepted by Foundation security personnel, ██/██/199█]

_SCP-XXXX is not safe enough for Thaumiel. You know it. I know it. Can't they see that the wanton use of SCP objects is endangering the Foundation? Sure, information containment is about to get a lot harder, but we cannot deliberately subject our people to these memetic effects. Could you imagine that happening to a family member?_

_We both know the O5's are not going to listen to reason. You know what we have to do._

Subsequently, Dr. ███-████ attempted to breach security by widespread publication within the Foundation's intranet of several Thaumiel-class documents, including an earlier version of this entry. All of these documents were intercepted by Foundation security personnel. When questioned under truth serum, Dr. ████████ denied any knowledge of Dr. ███-████'s plans, and stated that he must have acted alone. Dr. ███-████ was summarily terminated. Dr. ████████ has returned to her duties after being cleared by a thorough investigation. Finally, all affected Foundation security personnel have submitted to targeted class C amnestics in order to comply with Thaumiel classification restrictions.

[Executive summary of document SCP-XXXX-██, dated ██/██/200█.]

_To the O5 Council,_

_The killing of Dr. ███-████ was an unfortunate necessity. We cannot risk the disclosure of the Thaumiel program, or else many more lives would be lost._

_However, we have grave concerns about the manner in which it was implemented. The Council has effectively simulated a coup of the Foundation. This incident will likely be used by our enemies in propaganda and for other political purposes, and we are not in a position to deny or mitigate the story. More importantly, it may undermine rather than enhance the loyalty of low-ranking Foundation personnel, by creating the appearance of an arbitrary and capricious O5 Council._

_Having read the supplementary materials you provided, we have reluctantly concluded that there was insufficient time to formulate a more reasonable plan, considering Dr. ███-████'s high level of access to Foundation systems and the need to expeditiously remove it. On the other hand, we categorically reject your argument that this incident may encourage independent and creative thinking at lower ranks. It has not. Instead, it has engendered fear and suspicion. Ordinary personnel are no longer certain that they can trust leadership, and have become defensive and withdrawn in response. Several Foundation therapists have described these effects to us in considerable detail, and we defer to their expertise. In the future, the O5 Council should not undermine itself in this fashion. We trust that you will devise a suitable alternative cover story, should it become necessary to kill another senior researcher._

_Our full report has been filed in the usual manner as document SCP-XXXX-██. This concludes our investigation._

_For the Ethics Committee,_  
_Dr. ██_

**Author's Note:**

> This work is not directly based on any individual SCP object, although it does refer to "[SCP-148](http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-148)" by "Lt Masipag" and "Communism will win". Given the very large number of SCP entries which have been written, it is entirely possible that this story resembles one or more of those entries, but I am not specifically aware of any such entries.
> 
> Nevertheless, the entirety of this story is hereby released under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) license.


End file.
